Marinatto to be named Big East commissioner

John Marinatto, the former Providence athletic director who has been the Big East's senior associate commissioner, will be announced as the conference's next commissioner, according to numerous news reports.

Marinatto, 51, who has been with the Big East since 2002, is to be introduced at an 11 a.m. news conference at the league offices in Providence. Marinatto worked under the Big East's two commissioners, Dave Gavitt and the outgoing Mike Tranghese, while as a student at Providence. After working as the Friars' athletic director from 1987-2001, he has spent the last six years as Tranghese's right-hand man.

Tranghese announced this summer he would be retiring in June 2009, and the conference's 16 presidents voted to select his successor in Philadelphia on Tuesday. USF president Judy Genshaft was on the six-person selection committee charged with finding the person best suited to take over direction of the league.

We'll have more from the Big East's news conference later this morning. Here are links to my weekly USF notebook, and Joe Rienzi's practice notes about seniors calling a players-only meeting last week.

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